Diamond fire continues burning; north winds don't materialize

MAZAMA  The Diamond Creek Fire continues to burn north of town, but strong north winds forecast for Thursday, Sept. 14, did not materialize.

Fire managers had though wind would push the 122,000-acre fire farther south. As of Friday morning, Level 2 evacuation alerts remained in effect for the Lost River, Mazama and Rendezvous areas.

The human-caused blaze, which was reported July 23, is 30 percent contained. It has burned 98,390 acres in Washington and 23,610 acres in British Columbia.

The fire continued to throw up smoke in the Monument Creek drainage and moved approximately 0.75 mile down the drainage but is running into large areas of rock that are hindering fire movement south, fire officials said Friday. There was continued fire activity in the Pat Creek drainage where helicopters worked to reduce both heat and fire spread.

Increased fire behavior was reported on other parts of the fire, including the area north of the Canadian border and on the northeast flank near Remmel Creek.

Firefighters continued to work on the primary fire line, building hand line toward the summit of McLeod Mountain. West of the Yellowjacket SnoPark, engines and logging equipment dropped snags, and brushed out and improved roads toward Robinson Creek.

Harts Pass Road remains closed.

The fire continues to burn into steep, rugged terrain in the Pasayten Wilderness and is being managed using a confine strategy that combines containment by natural features and full suppression to control the spread toward Mazama.

Crews continued to camp out to get an early start on suppression activities north of Mazama. Structures in the Remmel Creek area were wrapped Friday with fire-resistant material.

Fire officials expected temperatures to drop, and the long-range forecast includes rain on Sunday and the potential for snow above 6,000 feet.

More than 60 roads and trails are closed because of the fire.

On Friday, a National Incident Management Organization Team led by Bob Houseman assumed management of the fire. Many members of Rob Kephart’s Type 3 Team will be included in the command structure to provide a seamless transition, officials said.